UNCASVILLE — These are heady days for the Connecticut Sun, a revelation thus far in the WNBA season. And the opposite could be said for the Los Angeles Sparks. In fact, you might say they've been short a few flints.

Still, it didn't look that way Friday. The Sparks fought relentlessly, without many of their stars around to help. But the Sun managed to roll past the trouble, beating the Sparks 80-76 in overtime at Mohegan Sun Arena.

It was Connecticut's second win over Los Angeles in five days. The Sun ended their three-game West Coast sweep with a 76-68 win at the Staples Center. But this wasn't poetic or pretty. It was simple survival against a vastly undermanned opponent.

"It was ugly, but it was a win," Sun coach Anne Donovan said. "Overall, when you win a game in which you play so sluggishly, it's a good thing."

Alex Bentley (18) and Camille Little (14) led five players in double-figure scoring for the Sun, who shot 26 of 75 (3 of 16 from three). Jantel Lavender (22) and Andrea Hoover (17) paced the Sparks (0-6).

The Sun trailed 32-18 with 3:14 to play in the first half before the pendulum swung back in their direction. And once it did, only Lavender and Hoover, who led Dayton into the NCAA Elite Eight against UConn last season, kept the Sparks in business.

"We play very well from behind, which is the good news," Donovan said. "We have resiliency. This is a team showing me a lot of heart."

Then Hoover injured her left ankle with 5:00 left in the game, the Sun leading, 60-59. She was immediately, helped to the bench moments before Lavender scored her 20th to give the Sparks a 61-60 lead. Hoover returned in time for the final minute, the Sun's lead by then, 66-61.

The Sparks were not done. Aided by a flagrant foul call on Alyssa Thomas, they stormed back. Lavender drove the lane to tie the score 67-67 with 9.9 seconds to play. Bentley missed a shot from the top of the key, and Los Angeles rebounded with 1.3 seconds to play. It was time for overtime.

The Sun scored the first six points in overtime to take a 73-67 lead with 3:35 to play, then they held on.

"It shows character," Little said. "We could have played much better defense. Once we realize that if we don't score, they [the opponent] can't score, games will change much earlier.

Connecticut (7-1) has won seven straight and is off to its fastest start in seven years. They have started 8-1 twice (2005 and 2008) and were 7-1 in 2006. All of those seasons ended with trips to the playoffs, and the Sun advanced to the WNBA Finals in 2005.

Last season, the Sun lost six of their first eight before winning six straight to climb to 8-6 on June 25. The Sun then lost 15 of their last 20 and finished last in the league standings.

The Sparks have dealt with big injury problems. All-Star Nneka Ogwumike just returned this week in Washington after missing the first four games with an ankle injury suffered in their preseason game against the Sun at the casino on May 28. And Los Angeles was without both Erin Phillips and Alana Beard on Friday.

In fact, they had only eight players in uniform Friday, and one was Jasmine Lister, their graduate assistant for women's basketball. She was signed as a free agent before the Sparks game in Washington last week.

The Sun suffered through an awful first quarter. They made their first two shots to take a 4-0 lead in the first 58 seconds, then nothing else went right.

"Hopefully, this is the worst basketball we can ever play," Bentley said.

The Sparks scored the next eight points to take an 8-4 lead, then took a 17-8 lead with 1:17 to play in the quarter after a basket from Jennifer Lacy. By the end of the period, the Sparks led 21-10 after the Sun missed 15 of their final 17 shots.

Most of this happened after the Sparks seemingly lost another player. Veteran guard Temeka Johnson banged a knee in the first few minutes and gave way to Lister, who scored seven points in almost 31 minutes. Lister, the former Vanderbilt star who originally impressed Los Angeles coach Brian Agler when he was running Seattle's training camp in 2014, ran the team with aplomb.

Finally, a three-pointer by Shekinna Stricklen with 2:30 to play in the third returned the lead to the Sun, 47-45. Lister's three-pointer for the Sparks cut the lead to 51-50 as the fourth quarter began.

Sun golf outing: The Connecticut Sun Foundation hosts a golf tournament at Mohegan Sun Golf Club in Baltic on July 9. Registration begins at 11 a.m., and a shotgun start will take place at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is available on the course throughout the tournament. There will be a cocktail and dessert reception and silent auction. The fee is $150 per golfer, $500 per foursome. Contact Jen Hildebrand at 860-862-4087 or jhildebrand@connecticutsun.com.